


A Family Can Be A Convict, a Werewolf and The Boy Who Lived

by WolfstarPups90



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Azkaban, BAMF Minerva McGonagall, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Minnie McG takes no shit, Sirius gets a trial, idk - Freeform, possible wolfstar smut later, wolfstar raising Harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-21 00:01:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14272416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfstarPups90/pseuds/WolfstarPups90
Summary: Two years after Sirius is arrested for crimes he didn't commit, someone finally comes forward to demand a trial. Getting his freedom back was easy. Getting his lover back wasn't quite as easy. Getting his Godson was harder. Being a family is both the hardest and the easiest thing any of them will ever do.





	A Family Can Be A Convict, a Werewolf and The Boy Who Lived

**Author's Note:**

> So I wanted to write a raising Harry fic and I also needed something to work on in between We Were Infinite so I could give my brain a break. I don't know how often I will be updating, but it's only going to be about 4 parts. This first chapter is really only an intro so I'm sorry it moved a little quickly!

It’s incredible how quickly most people succumb to madness.

 

Azkaban Prison was designed for that very purpose. There were no windows to the outside word in the cells which meant no sun or moon or stars to track the time and one would easily lose track of how long they had been sitting there, alone, in the dark with nothing but their miserable thoughts and the screams of the other prisoners. The dementors fed on every glimpse of hope, every drop of happiness and every hint of light within a person until there was nothing but the cold emptiness of a shell of a human being left. Everything about Azkaban Prison was deliberately set to torture a person to the very brink of insanity, and it did so flawlessly. 

Unless, of course, a person may very well have had that madness in them all along. You can’t be driven crazy if you’re already there.

At least that was what Sirius Black had convinced himself, and he was sure there were people in the world who would find it completely conceivable if they had ever known him.

More conceivable, it would seem, than his innocence. Or so he had begun to think back in the first few months in his cell when he was angry and and spiteful and full of regret, hoping each and every day that he would finally just slip into insanity or death, not knowing if it had been hours or days or months or years that he had been there and feeling himself spiral only to jerk back into reality. He eventually gave up the hope that he would lose his mind, and he resigned to accept it. 

Memories were foggy and hard to remember in detail, especially if they were happy memories, but one day, Sirius wasn’t sure how long into his sentence exactly, when he was taking off his prison robe in order to see if he could fashion it into a noose of some sort and off himself, he caught a glimpse of something inky and black on his chest, just above his heart that he had forgotten was even there. It was a tattoo. Sirius remembered then that it was the first one he had ever gotten and that it had been at a Wizard Tattoo shop, done with magical ink so that the moon etched into his skin changed phases to match the moon in the sky. It occurred to him then that he could use that to keep track of the time, following the moon and carving tallies into the walls to mark his time.

There were 855 tally marks carved into the stone walls the first time anyone ever came to visit. 2 years, four months and 3 days.

When the figure had appeared on the other side of the bars in long, neat robes, Sirius thought he was imagining it. He thought it must be a dementor, here to take more away from him, and that his mind was playing tricks on him. However, Dementors didn’t speak, and this figure had the voice of a bloody Angel. 

“Sirius Black.” 

Sirius was sitting in the far corner of his cell and he didn’t move at first, he just stared for the longest time, unsure if he had heard the familiar voice because it just couldn’t be. He blinked slowly. The figure wasn’t moving away or changing shape. It must be real. 

“Sirius?” It spoke again. 

He licked his lips, trying to remember exactly how to form words and unable to remember the last time he actually had done anything with his voice except scream. “P-Professor?” His throat felt like sandpaper.

There was a sigh of relief from the person. “Heavens, Black, I thought for a moment it might be too late.” 

Sirius pushed himself up off the ground and cautiously stepped closer to the bars, the dim lighting of Azkaban still cast everything in shadows, but he could see more clearly and he wasn’t sure if he could believe that Minerva McGonagall was standing right there in front of him. She must have gotten a better look at him as well because she choked back a sob, her eyes taking him in with pity. 

“I-I don’t understand.” Sirius said, his voice just a raspy whisper from lack of use. “Why...why are you here?” 

“I’m here because for ten years I watched you grow up, Sirius. I watched you go from a broken, angry child to a brilliant and talented young man and I watched James Potter help you do that. I watched the two of you evolve as friends until you may as well have been two sides of the same coin. I watched you live for each other and fight for each other and I would have bet my own life that you both would have died to let the other live-” 

Sirius flinched, wanting to recoil back into himself at the words. His chest ached from them, like something was squeezing his heart like a vice. This was a nightmare. This had to be a nightmare. This wasn’t real. 

“Sirius, I’m here because I watched you and James Potter. And I know that you’re innocent.” 

Sirius’ breath hitched and he looked back up at the older witch. He stepped closer, wrapping his hands around the bars. “You believe I’m innocent?” 

Minerva gave him a small, but confident smile. “I know that you are.” 

Mcgonagall had never been able to accept Sirius’ guilt from the very moment that she had heard. It just could not be so. Sirius Black would have never betrayed James Potter, it wasn’t right, it just didn’t fit. She hadn’t kept quiet about her doubts either. She had addressed the issue right away with Albus after having kept a close eye on the dreadful Muggle relatives that were currently Harry Potter’s guardians.

“They are all he has, Minerva.” Dumbledore had written her off when she expressed her concern for the boy’s fate. 

“Albus, don’t you think it strange? Sirius Black, a Death Eater? Sirius Black, a mass murderer- Oh, well, I suppose that isn’t too far of a stretch- but Sirius Black, betraying James Potter?”

“He was their Secret Keeper, Minerva. There were witnesses who saw him-” 

“Yes, yes, I know that’s what they say, but Albus, I’m telling you this isn’t right! The boy at least deserves a trial, for Godric’s sake! This is criminal, throwing him into Azkaban without question!”

Dumbledore would not be moved on his decision to send Harry Potter to live with his mother’s sister, nor would he be persuaded to try to petition the ministry for a trial for Sirius Black.

At least not right away. 

Minerva had always been quite stubborn, and still she persisted for two years until she finally made some progress. However she hadn’t done so alone, and it hadn’t been easy to get the help that she had needed, especially since the only person who would be able to help clear Sirius Black’s name had more reasons to hate the man than anyone else in the world. Whether Sirius had committed the crimes he was imprisoned for or not, he was still not innocent when it came to Remus Lupin.

Personal feelings aside, regardless of the nature of said feelings, Remus found himself unable to accept Sirius’ involvement in the Potters’ deaths as well, and although it took a little time and convincing on Minerva’s part, Remus eventually agreed to help. 

Once they had managed to secure a trial for Sirius, things moved much faster and smoother. The trial itself was a breeze, given a heavy dose of Veritaserum that forced him to spill out every last detail of the truth until no one could deny that they had all made a grave mistake. Sirius was immediately cleared of all charges, received an Order of Merlin, First Class, and the Ministry - on behalf of the Wizarding World as a whole - delivered their utmost apologies for his suffering, asking if there was anything they could do to compensate. Of course, Sirius had demanded custody of his Godson, as per the child’s parent’s wishes.

It was Dumbledore who stepped forward to deny Sirius’ request.

Sirius didn’t plan to just take that lying down, and he knew he had a difficult time ahead of him to fight for his rights to his brother’s son, but even a messy custody battle seemed like a walk in the park compared to the hardest task at hand.

He had to make things right with Remus. 

Remus had been at the trial of course. He had taken the stand as a character witness, also dosed with Veritaserum, to confirm the details that Sirius had shared concerning Peter Pettigrew’s status as an animagus and what he knew about Sirius’ relationship with the Potters. He had sat in the back of the courtroom, his face expressionless as he watched the trial and remained just as stone cold at the stand and never once made eye contact with Sirius himself. When the trial was over, he slipped out of the room with the crowd before Sirius had the chance to approach him. 

Sirius wrote him letters for weeks, asking just to meet with him once just so he could apologize for everything that had happened between them, at least to give him some sort of closure. Remus never responded, and finally Sirius had enough of the silence and showed up on the werewolf’s front doorstep.

“They won’t give me custody of Harry.” Sirius said before Remus could tell him to go away. Remus shifted uncomfortable in the doorway. Sirius looked at him pleadingly. “Remus, please, he’s with Lily’s banshee muggle sister. You know that woman and her husband shouldn’t be anywhere near James and Lily’s kid. Harry’s supposed to be with his family. He’s supposed to be with us.” 

Remus cringed. “There is no  _ ‘us’ _ , Sirius.” 

“You know what I mean!” Sirius growled. “Look, I get it, alright? I was shit to you. I fucked up everything between us and I let fucking Pettigrew and my own insecurities mess with my head and hurt you! I’m sorry, Remus! You weren’t exactly great towards me either and I didn’t see you rush to my aid when they dragged me off to Azkaban!” 

Remus’ eyes flashed dangerously and suddenly Sirius felt very small as Remus towered over him. “What was I supposed to do, Sirius? I was angry and hurt and completely fucking alone and even if I did come forward and speak on your behalf, why would they believe me - The Murderer’s Werewolf lover.” 

Remus turned away from him and Sirius thought he was going to slam the door in his face, but he didn’t. He just stood there for a moment. Then he took a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Come on, then. I’ll put the tea on and we’ll see what we can do about getting Harry to you.” 

They kept their visits very simple and focused on what they had to do to grant Sirius custody of Harry until they could no longer avoid the things they wanted to avoid. They screamed, they cursed, they occasionally threw fists and they both definitely cried on multiple occasions and finally, when they didn’t know what else to do, they kissed and forgave each other. Because that was what they had always done and what they would always do. 

 

“This is a bad idea, Sirius.” Remus warned once his lover turned the key to shut off the motorcycle and the roar of the engine was gone. 

Sirius didn’t respond, not that Remus had expected him to after all, he had been telling the man that this was a big mistake for days. He dismounted the bike and started walking up the driveway without even looking back and with a defeated sigh, Remus followed suit. 

“When Dumbledore finds out-” Remus muttered as Sirius knocked heavily on front door, but Sirius just snorted in response. 

“He can stop me from taking the kid but he can’t stop me from being in his bloody life, Moony.” 

When the door to number 4 Privet Drive opened, Petunia looked as if she had seen a ghost. She had gone deathly pale, her eyes almost comically bulging out and she clutched at her chest in shock. The long hair, leather jacket, tight, ripped denims and heavy biker boots would have been cause enough for someone as proper and dull as Petunia Dursley of course, but she also  _ knew _ . She knew these were her late sister’s people and she knew why they were there. 

“Y-You…” 

Sirius grinned wickedly. “Why hello, Petunia. It’s been some time, hasn’t it? When’s the last I saw you and that walrus you call a husband, eh? Your sister’s wedding?” 

Petunia pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes at him. “ _ You’re _ not supposed to be here. You’ve no business here!” She went to close the door but Sirius stopped it with his boot, chuckling softly. 

“You see, that’s where you’re wrong, Petunia. You have my Godson, and he is very much my business.”  

Sirius forced his way past the woman and Remus, muttering an apology, followed him as Petunia called for her husband. Vernon Dursley looked very uneasy to discover that there were two wizards standing in his living room and when Sirius demanded to see their nephew while casually twirling his wand between his fingers, neither of them put up much of a fuss. 

Remus had to physically stop Sirius from beating Vernon Dursley to a pulp when the three year old boy emerged from the small cupboard under the stairs that was meant to be his ‘bedroom’. He was very skinny, even considering that James had been a beanpole himself, and he was wearing clothes that were clearly three sizes larger than his own at the very least. But with that mop of wild black hair and the glasses sitting askew on his little face, he was the spitting image of James Potter, and Sirius forgot to be angry for a moment. He dropped down to his knees, staring at the child who was staring back at him timidly. 

“Hi there, Harry.” Sirius’ voice broke with emotion. “You...you probably don’t remember who we are, do you?”

Harry hesitated, then shook his head ‘no’ and Sirius made a small noise in his throat that Remus could tell meant he was holding back tears. Harry must have sensed something because he immediately shrunk away, looking down at his feet and mumbled an apology.

“What?” Sirius blinked at him. He shook his head. “No, no, Harry you don’t have to be sorry. You haven’t seen us since you were a little baby, of course you don’t remember us. I’m your Uncle Padfoot, and that’s Uncle Moony. We’re your family, Prongslet.” 

Something flickered in Harry’s eyes at the nickname and he tilted his head to the side, eyeing Sirius curiously before a tiny smile appeared on his face and Sirius and Remus both felt a rush a relief. 

When they returned home later that evening Sirius let his anger about the conditions in which is Godson was being kept take full rein. Remus sat on the couch, calmly sipping his tea as he watched the other man tear through their flat like a hurricane, yelling and waving his wand haphazardly, causing multiple picture frames, coffee mugs and a vase to break. When the window curtain caught fire, Remus figured that it was time to intervene and bring it down to a dull roar before Sirius caused the entire place to explode. It was a good thing that he did, because that was the moment when green flames appeared in the fireplace, and Albus Dumbledore stepped into their living room looking more displeased than either of them had ever seen him.

“You were not supposed to be in contact with Harry, Sirius.” The older man stated accusingly. 

“BULLSHIT, ALBUS!” Sirius shouted angrily, rounding on the Headmaster. “THAT’S MY GODSON! JAMES AND LILY WANTED HIM TO BE WITH ME AND REMUS AND YOU’VE GOT HIM LIVING WITH THOSE-” 

“Sirius, calm down.” 

“NO, REMUS! YOU SAW HIM! YOU SAW THE WAY THEY’VE BEEN TREATING HIM! HOW CAN YOU TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!?”

Despite Sirius’ outburst, Dumbledore regarded them both calmly. “Under different circumstances, Sirius, you would have Harry without question. However, that’s not the way things are. Harry is with his Aunt and Uncle strictly for his own safety.” 

Sirius balked. “His own  _ safety _ !? They keep him in a closet, Albus!”

“Sirius is right,” Remus agreed. “There is nothing safe about this situation. James and Lily wanted Sirius to raise Harry if anything were to happen to them and it’s not like the Dursley’s are likely to fight for custody of him. They’d be glad to be rid of him. He belongs here with us.” 

“That is not the point, Remus. Harry has to be with a blood relative in order to keep him out of harm from Lord Voldemort.” Dumbledore explained. 

Sirius and Remus both paused, confused. 

“Voldemort is gone, Albus.” Said Remus. 

Dumbledore shook his head. “We cannot be sure what happened to Voldemort that night, but I hesitate to believe he is truly gone, and still, there are his followers and those who would wish to seek revenge.” 

Sirius glared, his fists clenched at his sides. “So you think I can’t protect him-?” 

“I think,” Said Dumbledore softly. “That no matter how much you love him and how powerful both yours and Remus’ magic may be or how skilled you are at dueling, it is still not the same as Lily’s blood protection. I’m sorry, both of you. The arrangement stays as it is.” Dumbledore turned to leave, but stopped just before he stepped into the fireplace. He looked over his shoulder at the two defeated young men. “Now that you’ve been in contact with the boy, it would be cruel to tell you that you cannot continue to do so. You may visit, if you wish to. Good night.” And in a flash of green flames, he was gone. 

  
  


**TBC**


End file.
